Shouldn’t Poetry be left on its own?

For me, writing poetry is an emotional liberation, written from the heart for hearts. My writings do not follow any pattern or form. Rather my proses are a free flow of thoughts written with emotions, which either I feel or have observed.

The learned may categorize them as sonnet, sestina, haiku or whatever they wish. But for me, it is a feeling not confined by boundaries, constraint in some regimented form, waiting for some judgmental proceedings. Isn’t art and standardize structure oxymoron? What are your thoughts?

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131 thoughts on “Shouldn’t Poetry be left on its own?”

This is really interesting Shantanu becayse everyone I know in all my poetry groups writes in free style. No boundaries. So I thought I had to write that way too, in order to be accepted. It drove me crazy! That was because it went wild lol. So, I tried writing on form – and the challenge of doing that and still getting meaning and emotion in it was exciting. Nowadays, I vary. I find free poetry the hardest to do. But I do it now. I have no idea at all which is my best poetry – that in free style or that in form!

I agree that often having too much form and structure and rules can stifle creativity and free thought. But sometimes it is nice to have some structure or a rhyming pattern or follow a form. I agree though, it isn’t necessary to have that to make it a good poem.

Kudis to the poets whiccan emote thier feelings within a structure..it is indeed an art or rather a skill.. who is to say that emotions can only be artistically defined of they follow a ceratin rules or conditions.
Even sometime as beautiful and creative as mother nature has exception and it florishes beautifully.My two cents.

Very true, Shantanu.
But as some like to tapestry,
and some like embroidery,
Who’s to say
what is & isn’t poetry.
I like to throw it all in the
shredder, and then the blender,
to see what comes out of me.

To each his/her own. So many of the great poets of yore wrote beautifully in the confines of the form and there are those whose free flowing verse strike a chord. What matters is the connect and engagement with the reader above all.

Sometimes you can’t give a tag to emotions and poetry is just like that I guess, it shouldn’t be categorized it’s just a spontaneous free flow of emotions and it’s beautiful without any rules or regulations. Rules and regulations destroy works of art.

Poetry is beyond pattern, form and so. It’s the waves of vulnerability in one’s heart. It is an unbound and unending flow of thoughts. Poetries are not read, but felt.
Honestly speaking, I’ve categorised mine. But what I feel it is so much more, totally beyond our imagination. 🙂

Feelings don’t come in rhymes, emotions don’t come with boundaries,expressions don’t come with rules,so how can we bind words in patterns?
When a heart is speaking to a heart and a soul smiling at a soul all that matters is that link between them which joins them through words.Who thinks about the specific patterns then?

I think that poetry can be unrestricted and free of form, but I also see the beauty of the sonnet and structure of the haiku. Just as there is a time and place for classical, jazz, pop and hard rock. Some prefer the work of Jackson Pollock and others the Italian masters. There is a place for all forms of art and creativity in this world. I think each person should do the creative work that comes from their heart. I think that is what you do, Shantanu, and that is what makes your work so beautiful. -Jill

I like the way you stated it. I am not against any form of art it is the scrutiny sometimes our mind gets into for a particular form that I am personally against. Loved the way you put it and thank you for your kind words

Thank you. I am humbled by your kind words. We must always remember that creativity comes down to choice. We choose what rules we want to follow or disregard. I will look forward to seeing where your creativity takes you next. 🙂

Amen brother! As for me , I want to break the mold. The beauty of words should never be put into a box, or categorized! That’s why in enjoy reading your writing, I can feel that it comes from the heart! 😊

Thanks for an interesting question! i just write what comes to up in my heart and i am ignorant of the rules of form and structure….

But i do think there is value in writing with form and structure — for example in Indian classical music we have rules for each raga but then the musician has freedom to work within it to evoke emotions with their alaap – and that is absolutely heavenly. So the form and structure inspire creativity to great heights as well, in my humble opinion. 🙂

Yes – strong judgments are so meaningless….we are here to create art and beauty with love! 🙂 Sometimes our minds take over our hearts. But – we are lucky we have each other to remember the way back home. thank you 🙂

I am a fan of free style and prose poetry, though I have learned all the forms but surrealism and prose is my genre.
Writing poetry needs to be cathartic by the end of the day. It needs to make our bone swim in a pool of calmness.

I always love your style, the choice of words, metaphor and even the comment you write. Your thoughts are so liberal and so deviant. Despite of all the repulsion it attracts. In summary I am fan of yours. If you already don’t know

I think that structure provides the opportunity for creativity. One is not required to abide by structure, of course, but I still think it can be conducive to art. Without structure, there are no rules to break.

Agreed! I think it’s important to understand some of the basic rules for poetry just so you can break them. It’s like any artform. But I suppose it can be accquainted to painting in that sense too. You’re can be a brilliant through and through impressionist painter or you can be experimental in your approach and aim to combine impressionism, abstract art, pop art – whatever you like! That’s the beauty of it and I guess if anyones telling you different they’re just pigeonholing their talent, so be it! 🙂

I have just started writing again after a few years and totally agree that writing should not be bound by constraints. Sometimes i do write more rigidly but other times i love to write more freely from the heart. It has encouraged me to find your comments, thank you 🙂

Absolutely… !!! The intricacies, the categories, the types of poetries.. I’m totally ignorant about.. but I just love to follow my heart, it’s feelings, and it’s words. Previously, I used to go blank finding mind-blowing bogs with scholarly works. But, that way, I started to succumb into my own shell, started to loose my thoughts, its words.. suffocation brought my senses back, that I shouldn’t compare myself with others, but concentrate on my mind and its own style of expressing its heartfelt words.. this post served my belief system strength ..
Omg.. I wrote so much here.. 😜😁🙈

I see your viewpoint, but I believe that the many structures of poetry provide art in themselves. there’s a reason why the classics, Shakespeare, Petrarca, and more have their own formulaic standards. art without any structure can become too chaotic, sometimes. I think that structure every now and then can challenge our creativity to higher levels and standards! my favorite way to do this at the moment is by haikus.

Writing from the heart is fine but using poetic devices such as form to add layer and depth to a poet’s writing is what help poems reach more people and be more sustaining over time. Poetry is like any other art form. Artistic expressions rich in depth are the ones people connect with over the ages.

I love the free flowing poetry coming straight from the heart for it has its own purity and power whether it is rhyming or free verse. But there is a great deal of merit when one is able to take that free flowing and distill it down so as to be held within a structured verse.

I believe your last statement holds the most truth. I attempt to write in multiple forms, and, from time to time, conform to “structure,” but it is by choice. My words are just what is laid upon my hands and come as they will. Rarely do I have anything in particular in mind. So, from the heart or the imagination, our poetry is ours to share in the words we choose. Very nice post!

I love how you can sometimes tell whether the writer easily found the right words or really had to struggle to put together a poem, like you said, flowing from the heart. Definitely agree that art and standardize structure is an oxymoron, but the standardised ones (sonettes, haikus, etc.) can pose interesting challenges to try your hand at sometimes too 🙂 Great post! Sorry I’m so late to it, haha x